12-year-old arrested for Naples clown threats

NAPLES, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- A 12-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the clown threats against the town of Naples and Lake Region Middle School.

The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said the threats of violence were posted to a Facebook page Wednesday. Investigators worked with Facebook to identify the source, which lead them to a 12-year-old student of Lake Region Middle School.

"The person represented themselves to be a clown," said a press release from Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. "As widely reported by media outlets, there have been many prior incidents, both locally and nationally, of threats made by people disguised as clowns."

The threat was a hoax, according to police. Officials said he had no intention of carrying out the threats, nor the means to do so.

Lake Region Schools took precautions Wednesday in case a clown decided to carry out the threats against their students and faculty. A Sheriff's Deputy was stationed in the Lake Region High School parking lot for the day.

Police said they have charged the boy with terrorizing and have released him to his parents.

The Cumberland County District Attorney's juvenile division will handle the case.

The creepy clown phenomenon has spread across the country. It started with a case of clowns lurking in the woods near a neighborhood in Greenville, South Carolina. Kids playing in the area told their parents about a group of people dressed as clowns living in the forest. That story spread quickly on social media-- soon, "clown sightings" were being reported across the country.

The first reported sighting in Maine was in Orono on Monday. Since then, a woman in Auburn reported a clown approached her home, but she scared it off by showing him her legally owned firearm. There have also been social media accounts created, that suggest a presence of creepy clowns in Maine.